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MEMBER DIARY

Turning the Lights Back On (Budget Proposal)

Ronald Reagan often remarked that America is a “shining city on a hill.” He invoked the Founders’ vision of America as a great experiment in limited government. They had this crazy idea that the American people could govern themselves. Not only did the experiment prove successful, but America became the first nation in human history to develop an antidote to poverty: Freedom.

After two centuries of unparalleled prosperity, the American dream is at risk of failure. The lights of the city are flickering.

We are nearly $16 trillion in debt and are adding more than $1 trillion each year. Our debt is grinding our economy to a standstill, unemployment is high and our weakening dollar is leading to exorbitant gas and food prices.

Politicians from both parties talk about balancing the budget. Many even support a balanced budget amendment to the United States Constitution—a worthy reform. But these words are empty rhetoric unless politicians get specific on the programs and agencies they will cut, eliminate, or reform to get our fiscal house in order.

Last year, instead of cutting spending my opponent in this spring’s Republican primary voted to let Obama borrow and spend another $2.4 trillion. And when Congress had just one vote last year for a budget which balanced our books offered by the Republican Study Committee, Tim Murphy joined the Democrats and many Republicans in voting against it.

Hypocritical politicians without real solutions need to be held accountable. In fact, a litmus test for every elected official or candidate for office should be: “What’s your plan to fix our country?”

I am proud to announce that I have a plan that goes far enough to solve our fiscal woes, which I developed without the help of staff or consultants. I spent many late nights combing through the federal budget for unnecessary or inappropriate expenditures. My experience working in the U.S. Senate prepared me to do the hard work most politicians are not capable of performing.

My plan slashes spending by $661 billion in the first year and $9.1 trillion over 10 years. It balances the budget just three years after enactment (2015) with real cuts instead of just limiting the growth of existing programs. Altogether, my budget eliminates four cabinet-level agencies and a total of 233 specific programs.

My plan also keeps our promises to seniors and low-income Americans by reforming our bankrupt entitlement programs and repealing the Obamacare monstrosity. My reforms strengthen Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security to provide better benefits at a lower cost. I will not let these programs go bankrupt and take our economy down with them.

Finally, my plan grows the economy. I implement a 17 percent flat tax on individuals and businesses. Compared to the Congressional Budget Office’s “baseline,” my plan is a $4.5 trillion reduction in the tax burden on Americans. My plan also lifts onerous regulations, starting with the repeal of Obamacare, Dodd-Frank, Sarbanes-Oxley, and the full repeal of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

I sincerely hope this plan can serve as a guiding light to all of our elected officials in moving forward to restore the American dream. Surely, putting out such a specific, comprehensive and bold plan makes me an easy target. But the time is now for political candidates to run on specific ideas rather than empty rhetoric. I challenge my opponent to do the same.

For more information on my budget plan or my candidacy for United States Congress, please visit my website: evanfeinberg.com